Wouldn't mind adding one to my permanent collection. Meteor was the first pin I've EVER played, broke, and helped fix. When I was 10.

Apparently I'm a member.

I'm not sure if I lucked out or not, but $300 for a game. Pretty much sight-unseen. The backglass is in *great* condition, and PF is good at worst. The MPU needs to be replaced, battery acid, I believe.

I pick it up this coming Thursday, so..

Yup. Apparently, I bought a Meteor. The owner wanted $300, and I couldn't really say no, even sight-unseen.

Picked it up today, and nothing majorly destroyed - just *extremely* dirty. Backglass is an B+ or A, and the playfield has no bare-wood wear, only some dirt ground into the paint up at top and insert edge wear. Amazingly, my QA label is still on the playfield - my game's birthdate, Oct 19th, 1979..
YhwVWXP_(resized).jpg

So, a couple questions - does everyone's game have this? 'Bat Power Control', hooked into the upper flipper:
svG7wB3_(resized).jpg

And what am I missing down here on the transformer pad?
CtknpOm_(resized).jpg

And, finally, I'm not getting my MPU to boot up. However, readong online, I should have a 'flicker' before the flashes start. I don't get a flicker - my LED goes on as soon as I turn the game on, stays on for a half a second before going out. Is that a 'flash', or is that the flicker? (I'll post a video tomorrow of the LED..)

Thank - Yeah, I'm in the mode right now of trying to figure out what was added by previous operators/owners, and what's original. There are some strange things (but nothing hugely wrong!)- like an empty lamp socket not screwed down, no bulb. No clue as to why it's like that - couldn't replace the bulb, or maybe the SCR's stuck on? So, the apparently 'flipper power control' is the biggest (possible) non-factory thing that was added. My driver board was replaced by a Bally-labeled one, though the MPU and other boards are Stern. Someone, at some point, removed the battery and added a 3-AA holder, but I do not think they added a diode to stop the charging. D'oh.

Until I get past the booting issues, I won't be able to check the lamps/switches etc. The rocket targets all seem to work fine by hand, the Meteor targets, however, are sticky and the mech will need to be cleaned.

And thden I'll need new rubbers, bulbs, *possibly* playfield glass and legs, at least.

And here's a question for everyone -

Anyone know the two different sizes of star posts? Some (like slingshots and up by the 'METEOR' targets) are *slghtly* shorter than the ones out along the edges of the field. I needs to get a handful of new ones (or each size!), and would hate to get the wrong ones, or two handfuls of the same size..

I think those sockets can't be replaced on the bracket - would need to buy 6 or 7 individual sockets (which are still sold..). IMHO, i wouldn't replace the bracket, and go for individual sockets.

I was actually considering this when I posted my reply. I may make up a board, for kicks. Don't think it'd be worth it in the end, though.

Okay, question - since work is real slow, I threw together a board outline. But figured I'd ask ya'll - if you're interested, what you'd prefer:

(1) A single board for the three rockets, or a board that only handles one row of the rockets. (The latter, one extra board will get you the spinner lights, as well..!)

.. and ..

(2) How to connect the wires? I can either: (1) make simple solder pads for each wire, (2) give each connection a single-pin molex header, or (3) A single molex header for the whole board? (1 would require soldering wires in. 2 would require crimping on a header. 1 & 2 would require no wire cuts - meaning you could jump back to the old style easily. 3 would require trimming wires and crimping on a header.)

--Me.

Yeah, that's one of the downsides. There are no 'screw-in' bayonet bases. There are a couple solder-in #44 bases, however, that would mean that: (1) Longer standoffs are used, which are harder to find unfortunately, and (2) when a bulb goes, you'd have to remove the whole thing. So, I went with the same ones used on WPC games, so that they'd be interchangeable.

Well, I made progress since then. My MPU is a little strange in the fact that the first 'flicker' isn't a 'flicker'. It's more of a 1.5 to 2 second fade. Turn the game on, the LED instantly comes on and a hum eminates from speaker. After about 1.25 seconds, the LED will quickly fade off, and the hum will diminish. Then the first blink comes.
My problem was - I wasn't sure if that first on time was 'the flicker' or the first flash. If it was the flicker, it meant my 5101 chips were bad. So, I just got a used MPU off of here (I posted a wanted ad) and sure enough - if has a quick flicker and flashes. So, I snagged the 5101 chips, plugged them into my board, and yup, it powers up. So, I have a (mostly) working game. A *LOT* of bulbs out, broken drop targets... all rubbers were removed (waiting on new ones to arrive now). All coils worked, haven't gotten to the flippers yet.

Yeah, I saw that. Honestly, I'd rather go the easy route (for me?) and make a small board to mount in there. Since I don't plan on LEDding it out (at least for now, I haven't seen any good LEDed Meteors yet..!) I would hate to have to unscrew that specific row to get to a single bulb.

*Was* working. I swear, I have hte worst luck as a tech. Was great when I was getting paid for it, but now.. arg.

New rubbers showed up today, as well as the NVRAM card. Pop out my 5101's and pup in the NVRAM. Turn game on, confirm it boots, and all's good. Turn game off. Start putting in new rubbers. Most of them go in alright, but find out that dumb-arse me ordered too many 1.25" and no 1"'s. Luckily, the 1.25"s fit just well. (Does anyone's machine actually follow the manual layout for rubbers around the upper flipper?) Flip switch, and.. .nothing. No hum from speaker, no life whatsoever. Arg. Getting voltage at the cable, and the .. (crap, I can't remember the name of it - small silver box back at the back of the cabinet. Traffic control cabinets use them too, but they're muxh larger. I just can't remember the name right now..) Anyways, getting power at the power switch input. Nothing on the output side. Seriously. I somehow *broke my game's power switch*. Holy carp.

My BG is in really good condition, with only a few scratches in it. My PF is useable - a small worn spot in one of the rocket's white exhaust, so it's not noticeable. However, a LOT of planking. I have it all waxed now, and it's smooth as butter - but you can feel the 'planks' as you draw your hand over. I was going to wait on getting PF done to see if CPR was going to reproduce them.

Next on the job is to rebuild all the drop targets & mechs. (New ones on order..) Then I'll attack flippers.

While I'm thinking about it, does your (or anyone's, again) game have an unused GI hole in the back of the playfield - one on either side under the large arch plastics? Mine have holes, but no sockets. Was curious if that was normal.

--Me.

The spinner and rocket lamps are all the same distance apart. (The spinner just wouldn't use the last socket, same as it is now with the metal brackets.) So one design of the board could be used 4 times and handle the rockets and spinner. Another board would need to be done to handle the Meteor targets - different light spacing. D'oh.
I thought about the resistor, but the difficult part is being able to fit the board next to each other - the space required would make them a very tight fit. I should have a drawing for a sample board tomorrow or Friday to show, in either case.

I'm swapping my time between actually working on my game, trying to get it up and operational, to my actual job and these boards. Fun!

That looks like the one that was at the Gettysburg auction last weekend.

CPR *may* be doing a repro run of them; they're taking votes now - you can so submit your vote at:
http://www.classicplayfields.com/order.html

Thanks, I'm seeing if I have a switch laying around, if not, I'll order that. Soimple switch. Just.. surprised and annoyed that.. somehow I broke *that*. Sheesh.
And yeah - seeing the other replies, yeah, I could just directly solder them. My main concern is having to remove the whole thing to replace a bulb, moving it may cause wires/solder points to fail again. So, I should have a drawing of a board up soon, and I may order a set for myself to try out first, then either make the PCB file public (so you can go make your own) or order them if folks want. I'm not planning on making any money off of them. (No need to..)

Quick question -
Will these new drop targets work? (On right. Note the long ridge under the three, down the center of the shaft. My original doesn't have it, and the small half moon is what catches and keeps the target up.)

IMG_20160428_210058_(resized).jpg

You have GOT to be f*ckin' kidding me.
After I posted that pic, the top of the 'R' DT came out of the game (it was broken in half, one of the reasons I ordered new targets) and IT matches the one on the right - the new ones. I went online to look at other drop targets for 'stern' (i.e. Marco's) and they all match the one on the right as well. I also found a drawing of the assembly, and mine looks almost identical - the ONLY difference is that in the pic (ref, here: http://www.marcospecialties.com//images/products/D-393-3-L/large.jpg ) the switches seem to be mounted on the bottom. Mine are on the back. But all the brackets look to be the same.

Can anyone get a closeup pics of one (don't matter which rocket #..) of their assemblies? Would love to use it for reference.

I'll try reassembling it with the new targets, but I'm not sure what catches the target to hold it up. Currently, it's the small half-moon at the taper. If the small extension there is supposed to hold it up, that may be a little too high out of the playfield? I'm not sure. I'll give it a try tonight.

i swear, this game is gonna make me go bald.

AH! hah!
Thanks! That answers it.

On mine, that bracket that you say they rest on, is mounted the other way - the flat is up against the bottom of the playfield. And my switches look just like yours.

I can't even guess to say how this happened, and.. would probably just get a headache trying to figure it out.

Thanks for the information. My game's dated Oct '79, but there's no way of telling what previous owners/operators did. And thanks for the offer - I don't need any targets, I actually bought a complete set (all 15), since they all were horribly worn, replaced, or broken. I just was comparing the one I took out to the one I put in (before dismantling everything else) and then noticed the style/ridge difference.

--Mike

Interesting. What changes were made in the assembly to support these? Anything other than flipping the top plate?

I went ahead and reassebled my #3 Rocket assembly. I reversed the top plate and installed it. While it *technically* works, I do NOT like these targets. First off, they sit lower, so the artwork gets cut off. (And, if the artwork was higher, it'd be visually cut off by the top lip of the 'tombstone'.

Here's a shot of my new #3, and an shot of the existing #2 -
IMG_20160429_220703_(resized).jpg
IMG_20160429_220651_(resized).jpg

Unfortunately, I don't have a choice right now, as all the DT banks - except for #2 - had broken or missing targets. D'oh. So they'll all get replaced. But I'll be looking for new targets in the 'chicklet' style. Heh.

Be interesting to see what you measure. ALL of my targets are low (I've now done the 1's and 2's, and they sit low also.. The 'METEOR' targets I'm working on now.) I compared a good tombstone target from the METEOR stack to one of the new ones, and they looked similar - the body of the old one was taller / longer, which made it stick out of the playfield higher. But like, a fraction of an inch. That, combined with a lower ink on the numbers could very well cause this.

And, sorry to everyone else for flooding/spamming the thread with my drop-target issues. Honest. If someone wants to post LED pics or something, feel free.

I just finished going through the 'METEOR' targets. They (both chicklet and tombstone - they were mixed) all did have the ridge - the ridge sits on the coil latch for release. These - the new ones I got - also sit a lot better on these than putting the ridged ones in the rocket targets. Strange, but I'll take it for now.

Dumb question - what is 'bricking'?

And yeah, when I put in my new targets, I had to adjust both the springs (tighten them) and the release coil latches - had to lower them a *touch*.

Oh, another dumb question -
The ribbon cables from my sound board (two of them) have 1 less pin than the header on the MPU. (So there are two unused pins on the MPU..) What's the right orientation for these?

Played the first game on my game since I brought it home. Flippers need to be rebuilt, switches adjusted, but it's solid. I'm happy with it. Had fun playing a game. Not bad for a $300 game.

Ah! Huh. I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

I had to disconnect the cabels when I was working on my MPU, and just never reconnected them. Now that the rebuilding is done on the DTs, need to finish hooking up the sound. Thanks.

Thanks - got it! I guess the IRQ from the MPU (pin 34) isn't used? Seems odd, but hey, what do I know.

Actually, I have that one - it had been pushed back into the back of the cabinet - I found it after I took my picture. I have all of those sheets that Lovef2k has - though I'll likely take him up on the deal once I go to rebuilding and repainting my cabinet.

I'm still working on the lamp boards - it's a little more difficult than I anticipated, due to the small size (width) they have to be to fit in along side each other on the rocket bonus lamps. I leave for California in a couple days, so I likely won't be able to continue laying out the board until I get back.

Is the 'Ball in Play' lamp behind the backglass supposed to be 'always on'? Wondering if I have a short in my lamp driver board..

Okay, thanks. I'll probably be getting a new board, since in addition to that one stuck on, I have a handful that aren't lighting at all.

Looking good!

What black did you use for the base?

Hey guys -
Come cabinet questions...

Were the legs stainless or grey-painted?
Anywhere to get new legs?
Will newer leg plates (mounted inside of cabinet, that bolts screw into) work in the cabinet?
Any place have new siderails?

-Mike

What is a "PinHead" board?

Was Meteor's door textured like that? Mine's stainless..

Okay, I was wrong. Apparently, it was textured grey. However, because of it's age and something some previous operator did, it's feels sanded smooth and done up in silver. I can feel the texture in the paint, but it's real light. I mistook it for stainless until I got close enough to study it.

Curious, how do your targets sit? Is the text cut off on the bottom, on the playfield?

Looking really good! I may steal that in years to come when I rebuild my cab..

My repros sit like that, and mine fall off too, see below..

Yours look perfect. Next time I go downstairs, I'll need to compare how high your text is on the targets - it's possible my text is just lower than it should be.

I did notice that my targets, *in general* are lower than they should be - when they're down, they sit below the playfield. Occasionally a ball will get stuck in this lower section, resting against a target that's up.

Mine fall off sometimes - when reset, maybe 80% of the time, one (usually the 1st 'E') will fall back down. Getting the reset coil to go higher may help - I'll have to try this. Not necessarily for the actual *height*, but more time for the target to 'settle down', fall forward and hold against the memory latch.

For the record, on my game, the 'Ball In Play' isn't controlled, it's part of the GI. I thought that's strange, but.. owell.

Good to know! Once I finish with the PF and move on to the cabinet, I'll give it a shot.

Woah, woah, woah... No coin lock-out coil?

Interesting to see how this speaker sounds..!

On another note - is there a replacement MPU board available that still USES ROMs, and isn't an all-in-one like the 'Ultimate' board?

Yeah, didn't realize it was that expensive. I'll keep my original board. There was a reason, but at the moment, I can't remember what it was. I'm getting old.

Idiot question guys..

I got new flipper assemblies since mine are so out of whack they're unsalvageable. What is the part # (or link to) a switch that the lower right flipper uses on the EOS switch to activate the upper right switch? And, what switch should be used on the cabinet for the flipper buttons?

Got ya, thanks!

Last stupid question for tonight - did the Meteor originally ship with red flipper buttons, or white? (My game has one of each, so..)

I'm leaning towards the red. What're you using to light them up, Gryphon?

Wow.. clean flippers. All mine are toast - wouldn't surprise me if they're original to the game, so I decided to change them all over to the WPC type. If anyone wants the old mechs, send me a message here..

You go for white, or a color?

I hope you guys don't start calling me an outcast now..

....Sorry.

IMG_20160530_172046_(resized).jpg

I actually haven't played it yet. I ran into an issue with the bats - Of the three bats, I have two different kinds, and I'm not sure which is normal, but only one type will work -

The upper one has the screw-in base, to hold the white bat. The shaft looks too long (which makes me think this isn't normal for this game), as the set-screws weren't in the bat's recess. The two lower ones are one piece, and the set-screws set into the recess at the bottom of the bat just fine. However - the issue is that with the lower ones, they're *too short* for the new flipper pawl to get a grip on. (Short ones are 1 7/8", the longer one is 2 1/8"..) So, I need to order new bats.

Issues I ran into weren't as many as I thought -
1. The second switch on the EOS doesn't fit. The BR flipper has a switch to activate the UR flipper. There's no (safe) way to get a dual-switch stack on the WPC mechs, and have it operated by the pawl. So, I 'hotwired' the UR flipper feed.
2. The UR flipper mech had to be rotated - it wouldn't fit in the same location as the old mech. And then rotated, it interfered with the spinner. So I had to grind a mounting leg off to clear the sppinner. You can see it in the picture - I added some electrical tape for safety - didn't want anything shorting +40v to the switch circuits. Wiring was then an issue too, but that was an easy fix.
3. I also went with the LOWEST WPC flipper coil on the top - since the distance is *so short* to the Meteor targets, I figured a FL-11753 would be fine - once I get new bats in, we'll see how that strength does.

So, now I have to wait for bats to come in. I'm *really* anxious to try it out. The old mechs were pretty much horrid. I got all three mechs, with the high-power EOS switches, proper stops, and coils for about $35 a piece from Pinball Life. So, I'm in about $120 with shipping.

--Me.

On purpose? Whatever for?

The Marco repros all have the longer shaft, so I ordered them, and will drop them in as soon as they arrive.

Update on the flippers -

Well, I'm really glad I did it. *HUGE* difference. If you're not a regular player, you likely wouldn't notice, but I could easily tell - a lot smoother in action and snappier.

Now, keep in mind that my originals were *horrible*, likely. I doubt they were rebuilt in the last 20 years. However, I *really* like them now.

The choice for the FL-11753 coil on the upper flipper was *perfect*. With standard EOS gap, it's perfect and not too strong for the drops.

The *down* side is that I ordered these flipper bats - http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/A-3994-5 They have the right length shafts (2 1/8") - remember, the lower ones in my game had 1 7/8" shafts, and were too short for the flipper pawl to grab on to - BUT the body of the flipper - the bat, is actually a few mm's WIDER than the originals - so I get a little bit of ball-hop coming off the wire guide. Even with that little hop/bounce though, ooh, I blew my old HS out of the water.

I also sent off for the first round of light boards earlier today. Anxious to see how they fit in.

Interesting, thanks guys. In either cadre, the older - shorter shafts - will not work with the WPC mechs..

Hey guys -
Random question of the day. On an original MPU-200 board, for the dip-switches, which was is 'On'? Left, or Right?

I tried setting some game options recently, and have noticed that the game's actual operation is different than what I have selected. (Both game options and coin options..) Reversing the switches, still get something different than what I *should* be getting.

Wondering if I have an older ROM version..

Neat.. Looks good!

Good job! Looking forward to pics!

First test light boards came in.. And they look good, they line up better than I expected:

IMAG0016_(resized).jpg

Sure, see this. Note that I wired the EOS in to break the Common, NOT the power feed. This shouldn't give your sky grief though, you may have a bad diode on your coil..

IMAG0023_(resized).jpg

IMAG0022_(resized).jpg

I keep mine the same as my TZ - between 6.5 and 7.

Question -
Who has a 7-digit display mod installed?

Is there a ROM that will still report numbers in 10's, but not flash/display "000" when a game starts?

Quick small update...
Parts came in for the light boards. I assembled them. Unfortunately unable to mount them in game yet, as my screws were too short.

Here's an image showing one all together with light sockets, one together without, and the back of #3.

Spacing of the boards in the game is VERY tight - mainly because the sockets are wider than what's in the game. I may try adding a spacer in the middle to support the board. But because the circuit traces have to run down the sides, it may not be possible. The two-pin headers are for the conmon/power wire, and both pins are connected - save with three populated 2-pin header at they other end. Help wiring that common.

Unless I have a lot of interest, I may not offer these up. It's about $11 per board, not including the headers and spacers, and assembly. Since you need four for the game (3 rockets, 1 spinner) that can add up. I am going to get a quote from another manufacturer that can also populate the board, and see what they want and price breaks

-Mike

IMAG0039_(resized).jpg

Just did the math, and the parts and PCB (from a low-run producer) would be max $35 a board, so you're looking at a whopping $105 for three, $140 for four. Again, max. I'm adding in base shipping charges to this - the more I order on the same order, the cheaper shipping works out to be. But, I figure it's better to go over and then run under than it is to go under and have to say 'oops, more!'. This also dosen't take into account any of my time assembling.

The biggest cost is the board - at $15 a piece, that's just about half of everything. The twist sockets are next, at $4.50 per board (7 of them), and then the spacers are $1.10. The spacers kinda tick me off, as the black ones are out of stock everywhere and I can't find a non-pin supplier that sells spacers. The ones I selected I can get from Digikey.

I originally made this board so that one version could fill the 4 slots. It may be cheaper (and I'm going to find out) if ONE board covers all three rockets. I'm also going to contact a PCB manufacturer/populator and see what they quote me at - a larger quantity may be cheaper.

In short - because of the cost, I don't think it's worth it. Now, I may look into making a board with LEDs on it (RGBW LEDs, to allow warm white and colored spots of light under each insert..) but that's a ways off, and I'm not sure I'm LEDing my game yet.

Edit: Looks like if I get enough boards to do 5 games (20 boards), I can get the price down to just under $7 a board - half of that cost. That's not bad..

Yeah, can be done. I'm working on a board now to test. Again, though, the downside is that the board would ONLY be used for the rocket lights - couldn't be put into the spinner row of lights. The larger size board means that the single board would cost more than a single small board, but hopefully it won't be 3x the cost. :

Not 100% on that - with all the light socket holes, the board flexes. I'm tempted to leave all 6 spacers in when running it this way.

Oh, yeah, sorry - I meant that with this current design, the SAME BOARD would be used 4x in one game, for the 3 rockets and #4 for the spinner. If I moved to the larger board, then yes -

I can try going thicker - problem with that are the standoffs, then.

In test mode, if you hold down flipper cabinet button, do the flippers pulse after the coils all fire and before sounds play?

Do you have a credit on the game?

In switch test, does pressing the start button register?

I haven't been able to work on these much because of summer projects, but I finally got the three boards mounted in the game, just so I could play ut. Here's a shot of them installed (not wired yet).

I'm still working on the 21-light board. Should have a proto of it near the end of Sept.

IMAG0073_(resized).jpg

I'll check later tonight, once I finish getting my boards in and can power it up.

I forgot to reply - I got a reading of 40v on both.

Random question - Does everyone's games keep the Bonus Lights and Rocket 3 Bumper as their last status from the game, with no light show?

Since this thread's been quiet for a while, I figured I'd check and get thoughts -

I'm working on the 21-light board (instead of the 3x 7-light boards) for the Rocket Lights, and torn between two options. Figured I'd see which was prefered -

(1) A board with the cutouts for the 555 sockets, or
(2) A board with 5050 LEDs for the inserts (color TBD), and with an optional resistor to use with original boards?

The #2 would be cheaper (believe it or not, the LEDs and assembly would be cheaper than the twist-sockets). I COULD do both for those interested, but they would be a LOT more expensive because of split resources.

--Mike

That's cool! Better than a vote for 'neither'!

Something I always wondered about the game -
What's the significance, if any, with the rocket counter colors? How come all the colors are unique, except for #1 and #5 (white)?

Nono, I mena, wy did they choose those colors, and why would they duplicate 'white', and none of the others? (i.e. Was there only 6 colors in use back then? )

Okay, another three stupid questions..
(1) Can someone PM me (or post here, if you really want) on how to recreate the 'infinite bonus countdown' bug?

(2) When you get all three rockets at the same level, 'WOW' is lit. I've noticed a couple times now that when WOW is lit on a rocket drop target, *sometimes* when the ball hits the target, the 'WOW' will not be awarded, but the rocket count will raise up. (Almost like the game is increasing the rocket BEFORE evaulating 'WOW', and since the rocket was raised, WOW is unlit and not awarded.)

(3) Can someone familiar with the 7-digit mods send me a PM? I have some questions that I haven't been able to find online.

Cheers!
-Me.

Hey guys -
I lost one of my bookmarked sites, and searching doesn't come up with it, so I'm at a loss -
Somewhere there was a site on how to convert a 6-digit game (like our Meteor) to a 7-digit, using original 7-digit glasses. There was an extra wire that had to be run from a board to each of the displays.

Anyone have details on that, or know of the site that has info on that?

I missed your original reply, sorry - but holy crap, I did not know that. That increases the difficulty like, 3 times. Thanks!

--Mike

Thank you! That was the page I had bookmarked!

Interesting - are side rails not available? (I haven't looked, but I know I'll be needing them..)

(Whohoo.. shipping from Canada, too..!)

Huh. I thought we were talking about the cabinet side-rails, not the playfield ones.

Huh. True, but the ad also states that there's a 'pair' of them. On Meteor, we would need three. (Shooter lane, then left & right.)

Okay, to clear up the confusion -
He's making the cabinet side rails - the plates that are on the outside of the cabinet that the glass slides into. These are NOT the wood rails on the playfield.

Taylor doesn't do metal.

Hey guys - two part questions -
1. Anyone have part numbers / diagram for the dead bumpers in the game? I don't see the assembly listed in the '81 Parts Manual.
2. Is the pop bumper supposed to be B-196-1 or B-695?

Thanks! I didn't have my game in front of me, and couldn't remember which it had.

Many thanks! Somehow one of mine had its body break at the base, so figured I'd get all new parts.

Okay, another strange question -
For the coin door config - was there a standard on coins accepted? Any options available when purchasing?

Probably another month or so before I get first test ones in. It's been slow because of work (And wife and I splitting up..)

But, I have two protos that I'll be getting done - one with 5050 SMD LEDs (same units that are in most bulbs for sale out there), and one that has the screw in lamp holders.

It was mutual, we parted on good terms, and I wish her the best. Just means my projects were delayed because of logistics.

Awesome! Who did the work?

Unrelated - have a general question for all owners here - if you could add or changed ONE RULE to the game, what would it be?

Looks good. I'm debating between getting mine restored/cc'd or waiting for CPR.

On another note, I'm afraid to ask - has anyone seen the movie this game was made after?

I'll look tonight, once I get home. I did this to my game recently, and had no issues. So, if noone gets back in the next three hours or so, I'll compare it to mine.

On mine, the only thing I did differently was take out the upper right flipper switch - since I couldn't get enough room on the EOS switch to handle cutting in the upper switch.

That looks right comparing to mine.

Check the diodes on the coil.

Could, certainly! It would effectively short to ground then.

IMHO - stick with the OEM 'alternate' ROM. The /10 ROM is okay, but my OCD can't stand not having a score end in '0'. The 'Home' ROM is buggy. There's a newer version, mostly under testing, if you're interested send me a PM. But frankly, the OEM 'alternate' is an official Stern release that fixed the unlimited bonus countdown.

The one that's posted, I don't know. I know the guy that made it, and when I asked him, he said it was buggy as heck, and recommended not to use it.

Odd request -
Can someone measure the board size of the display (6-digit) PCB, length and width?

Thank you so much! All I have are 7-digits in mine, and the previous owner never wired in the 7th digit. D'oh.
Working on a custom, personal board for the displays, as I wait for the letest revision of the rocket light board to come back.

Silly question -
Can the WMS/Bally leg brackets (http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=144) be used in the Stern cabinets? A couple of mine are stripped, and I'd like to upgrade, stiffen them up.

Thanks! I'll go ahead and get the correct one for now, and then once I re-do my cabinet, I'll upgrade them all.

Another silly question - was the game *supposed* to have blinker bulbs in the backbox behind the 'METEOR' name?

Okay, apparently I'm just going to spam this thread, as well. Sorry guys.

Got the new light board in from the PCB plant, and I have an important question -
How important is it to have built-in resistors for putting LEDs in?

The current design has two spots for a resistor network that can be soldered in, if you want to use LEDs with an original board. However, the latest board didn't work out as they're in the way of the screws to mount it to the playfield. So, either I make the board larger - sticking over the screws on either the top or bottom to fit them, or remove them completely. Right now I'm just thinking that I'll remove them (anyone that uses LEDs will likely put them in other sockets as well, which would require use of a newer light driver board..)

Re - the flippers. Am I the only one that upgraded to the WPC flipper mechs?

This board took me a LOT longer than it should have, because of other projects (including a new MPU-200 board I'm messing with, and messing with adding rules to the software..) In the meanwhile, while my TZ keeps kicking my ass and making me angry, I have always jumped back to my Meteor.

Yeah. Plug in the ROM set labeled as 'Alternate'. It fixed that up.

Oh - with an Altek then, I think you're stuck like that.
The most common 7-digit ROM has the bug, as does the /10 ROM.

The bug isn't necessarily dependent on the spinner, but does have to do with the Bonus X and the 'Collect All Rockets' light on the outlanes -
As I understand it, the 'Collect All Rockets' routine saves data to a RAM location that is right adjacent to the Bonus 'X' save location. If something CPU intensive happens, a race condition will occur where the 'Collect All Rockets' code will save and then clear a value as another thread is trying to read the Bonus X. The Bonus X thread will then get an incorrect number (255), and think that's your bonus. It will then count down your rockets (even if you have none) from 255x. Interestingly, how the lights are stored in RAM, you can watch the 'Game Over' light on the backbox switch on and off - that light, essentially, is your '8x' bonus light.

The ROM set listed as 'Alternate' is officially released from Stern, and it changes the RAM location for one of those two functions, avoiding the collision.

I completely agree. It's why I won't get one, and why I'm making my own newer MPU-200 board. (It's in the works, but plan is to allow larger EPROMS for easier burning and more program space, as well as more RAM space to store data. Meteor uses ALL the available RAM, save for a couple nibbles (total of 1 or 2 bytes..) So adding anything is very difficult, and is where the above bug came from.

One of the things I wanted to add was code to allow the 'Meteor' (pop bumper) to 'fight back' - when the ball hits the pop bumper, one rocket bonus will be *taken off*. Muhaha.

Essentially, the unused portion of the addresses in an MPU-200 board means that the game code can take just under a 27C256 (32kb) in size. (Total available EPROM address is $0 - $EFFF) When these boards were made, only EPROM space available was four 2716 or two 2732s (8kb total). Meteor's ROM does not have much empty space in it either- there's maybe 1/4 left available. So, more EPROM space (plus, ability to burn the image to more common chips like a 27C040) and more RAM space (doubling by 2/3rds.)

Sorry, I'm rambling technical.

I went ahead and ordered final versions of the lamp board. I got three of the incandescent (#555 twist-in socket, used in all DMD 90's games) boards, and I ordered one all-LED board, using the same LED units as Comet's '5050' LED bulb. If there's enough interest, I can get a handful made, but cost is on the upper-end. (If I have 10 people, cost would be about $70 a piece. Higher with less people, lower with more.)

By the end of the month - likely after the holidays, I'll be able to take pics and show them, once they arrive.

Holy crap. I way, way underpaid for my game.
ebay.com link: itm

And apparently, Meteors are hard to find!

The new lamp board is in! Whohoo...
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Two potential issues with it still, which frankly bugs the heck out of me, but..
The first is that the mounting holes for the standoffs - I designed them over what I had on hand originally, way back on the very first go-round. The ones I had on hand were NOT the WMS/Bally black ones that they used in the 90's. I dunno where I got these from. The black ones however, are smaller and don't lock into the hole. Argh. So I need to either find ones that will fit, or get another round of boards made with the holes shrunk down some.
The second problem I can't test until I have standoffs. I believe my mounting holes are maybe .1" too wide from top to bottom. I can't double check until I get standoffs. It's possible it will work, just be a tight fit.

With the holidays coming up, I may not be able to proceed on this until after the new year. But, honestly, if I can (1) find standoffs that work, and (2) the holes aren't too far off-center, then these boards are good.

I have an all LED board coming in, supposedly sometime next week, but we'll see.

I can supply lamp bases with the board - they're available straight from Digikey as well. Same bases (or at least, they're compatible) that are used in M/W WPC games.
Pinouts are really simple - there's three headers, one for each Rocket. Pin #1 on each one is for 1k Lamp. Pin 2, 2k lamp, etc. The two-pin headers at top are for the lamp bus.
You don't have to use all eight. You can use as many as you need to to hold the board in place. The six on top and bottom line up with the existing mounting holes. The two in the center were just so that a stand-off could be inserted to keep the board from flexing too much. (Though, testing it, they won't be necessary. The single larger board is a LOT more sturdy than the smaller 1-rocket boards.)

The single boards also fit for the 6 lamps under the spinner, which once I get the proper standoffs, I plan on using one of mine for. (Might as well..!)

Also, a bump: CPR still has the Meteor as 'looking for interest'. If you haven't signed up for a playfield, please do so. The more of us sign up, the sooner it'l get bumped up! http://www.classicplayfields.com/order.html

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

My second "test board" came in while I was out. I'll try it tonight or tomorrow..

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For the record, the coin door blue 'credit' button label that Marco sells is *not* metallic. It's horrible.

I was already pretty much writing off Marco - this pretty much sealed the deal.

Thanks! You're awesome! I'll PM you, though no rush - I ordered it since I'm thinking about tackling my (horrible) coin door next month, but haven't started yet.. I'm looking into available methods to recreate that.. marbled(?) look.

For those interested in the LED board above, I opened a poll - curious to get thoughts:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/meteor-lamp-board#post-3530754

Thank you, Lovef2k! I have to get my door off, and disassembled before painting, so it'll be at least beginning of spring, but, I can't wait. I did pick up the paint; and yeah, it looks really really close!

For those interested in my light board, a question -
I like how the LED board came out - so much - that I'm thinking that I won't even worry about making the incandescent board. If anyone here was thinking about getting one from me, and not wanting the LED board, drop me a PM, lemme know.

In theory, a single LED shouldn't fail. If it does, say, withi na year (usually when most LEDs die a premature death), I'll send a new board as long as you send the old one back so I can replace the LED. Unless you can solder large SMD, in which case I'll send you a few replacement LEDs.

The final revision will have a jumper, so that in the case the light board doesn't draw enough current for the lamp board, you can solder a small jumper on and make it compatible. (Or, if using a new lamp board or LED adaptors, leave the jumper off.)

I'm also narrowing down the right standoffs to use, so in a couple weeks I hope to have everything put together for my final test board.

Strange question..

What ever happened to Steve Kirk after he designed Meteor?

Hey guys -
Wanted to give an update on the Meteor lamp board.

First, good news!
I'm going to be sending off for two more prototypes. Decided to have another proto run, as I wanted to add a couple things:
(1) Wire solder points, so those that do not know how to crimp a molex connector and don't want to cut their wires can still use the board.
(2) Load resistors, so that, in the odd chance this is the ONLY LED board in your game, you don't need LED adapters or another lamp driver board.
I'm going to want one person here to test the board in their game for me. Don't PM me yet! Wait until I post here near the end of Feb once I have the board in.

Now, the bad news.
After this prototype, assuming that they both work, it will be several months before I will order my first round of them. The main reason is because of ... money! No, I'm not broke. HOWEVER, 2016 was a bad year for my company, and I did not get the expected bonus. I have two big road trips coming up this May. Beginning of May I'm heading up to Cedar Rapids, IA, and at the end of May I'm heading out to Willits, CA. I live on the east coast. I need to make sure that my accounts have enough balance in them in case the unexpected happens along 'The Loneliest Road' in the middle of Nevada.
Once I get back from my trip - around the 15th of June, and again assuming these last protos are good - I will get a batch made and available to everyone.

Just wanted to explain the upcoming delay.